The Kaldorei

Probably no race has played as central a role in the history of Azeroth as the night elves have. They’ve both doomed and saved the world in turn. They created a vast empire and saw it shattered by their own ambition and hubris. Today, the race is a shadow of what it once was, but the night elves still fight, for both the world and their place within it.

Night elf (or Kaldorei as they call themselves) history is long, and complex. This will be a short summary to introduce you to the basic story of the night elves in World of Warcraft.

Thousands of years ago, when the continent was still whole, the vast wilderness was dominated by troll tribes. The Zandalari, Gurubashi, Amani, and Drakkari empires dominated the continent. However, a tribe of dark trolls living in the caverns underneath Mount Hyjal would discover in a forest clearing a magical lake called the Well of Eternity. The dark trolls would settle here, and over time the magics of the Well would alter them, strengthening their magical abilities, and physically mutating them. These would in time become the first kaldorei, or Children of the Stars.

Instead of worshipping the Wild Gods as trolls did, the night elves begane to worship a moon goddess, Elune. The night elves believed Elune slumbered in the Well of Eternity. In time, temples to Elune would proliferate across the kaldorei empire. 

With their seemingly limitless magical powers, the night elves built a great capital for themselves, and began pushing out into the world around them. The kaldorei empire would in time overpower and drive back all the troll empires, making themselves the dominant power on Azeroth. So fast was their dismantling of the troll empires that the Kaldorei offered the reclusive priest-kingdom of the Zandalari that they would allow the Zandalari’s mountain kingdom to go free if they would bring the other tribes to heel. A humiliating deal the Zandalari had no choice but to accept, leading to millenia of hatred by the trolls towards night elves.

All of this history happened under the reign of one queen, Azshara. Another effect of the Well of Eternity on the kaldorei was near-immortality. For thousands of years, Azshara and her Highborne (the magical adepts at the top of kaldorei society) would grow in their power and understanding of the arcane. At her height, Azshara was likely the most powerful being in Azeroth.

That sort of power inevitably leads to arrogance and hubris. Despite the warning of the demigod Cenarius and some mystics, the kaldorei continued their arcane experiments with reckless abandon, sending ripples through the magical fabric of the universe. They also eventually turned inward socially, ignoring and neglecting their relations with peaceful races like the tauren and pandaren. In time the pandaren would sever all ties with the night elves.

Finally, their thrashing around in the Twisting Nether attracted the attention of forces more vast and malignant than the kaldorei could have ever anticipated; the Burning Legion was coming for the kaldorei.

The dark Titan Sargeras, creator of the Legion, came to Azshara appearing as a god, offering her and her loyalists unimaginable arcane power and the eradication of the lesser races who polluted Azshara’s dominion. With great eagerness did the Highborne open the portal allowing the demons through, and with even greater eagerness did the demons come through. These first demons came not to conquer, but to help the kaldorei stabilize and expand the portal. They night elves were using the Well of Eternity as the anchor point of the gateway, to feed off the immense magical power within it. The demons, unbeknownst to the kaldorei, intended to power the portal to such a point that Sargeras himself would come through to rend Azeroth himself.

A group of dissident kaldorei led by Malfurion Stormrage (the first druid taught by Cenarius), the priestess of Elune Tyrande Whisperwind, and military officer Jarod Shadowsong had launched a resistance to Azshara and her Highborne, and they hatched a plan to try and destroy the portal. 

Learning of this, Sargeras changed plans and commanded his forces to destroy the kaldorei. Immediately the doom of the night elves was at hand. As war raged between the Legion (and their Highborne collaborators) and the kaldorei rebels, other forces on Azeroth came to the aid of Cenarius and the rebels. The Nature Guardians (or Wild Gods) came, including Ursol and Ursoc the bear spirits, Aessina, Tortola the turtle spirit, the great stag Malorne, Ashamane the cat spirit, Goldrinn the wolf spirit, Aviana, and Agamaggan the boar spirit, among others. So too did the Dragon Aspects, Alexstrasza, Malygos, Nozdormu, Ysera, and Neltharion. So too did other forces of Azeroth, such as the tauren, the bear-like furbolg, the Ancients (great and wise tree beings), and the earthen (ancestors of the dwarves).

Eventually, the portal would be closed, but the resulting explosion of energy would lead to the Great Sundering, where the continent would be shattered into the land masses we see in the game today (Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms, Pandaria, Northrend, Kezan, the Broken Isles, Kul Tiras, and Zandalar, among others). The surviving highborne kaldorei were banished from Kalimdor, forced to take to the sea and find a new homeland. The night elves purged arcane magic from their society, and took to the wilds. And there they stood vigil for the return of the legion for 10,000 years, until the events of Warcraft 3, where Thrall’s New Horde, and the survivors of Lordaeron in Theramore would fight alongside the kaldorei to stop the demons once again, on the slopes of Mount Hyjal.

Since World of Warcraft, the Night Elves have suffered tragedy and hardship, but as they always have, they endure and move on.

Night elves can play as warriors, death knights, hunters, druids, rogues, monks, demon hunters, mages, and priests.

Many of the night elf racial bonuses reference their stealthiness and penchant for surprising their opponents. In addition to their special relationship with the world around them.

1. Shadowmeld. Every two minutes a night elf can enter stealth and become nearly impossible to detect, as long as they stand still. The stealth is broken upon movement or attacking. Perfect for setting up ambushes.

2. Elusiveness (rogues/druids). Night elf shadowmeld also provides a benefit to classes that can already stealth by making night elf rogues and druids even harder to detect when stealthed.

3. Quickness. After thousands of years living in the forests on the move, night elves are quick on their feet. Dodge chance increased by 2% and movement speed increased by 2%.

4. Wisp Spirit. Instead of becoming a ghost and moving at 50% speed upon death, night elves turn into a nature wisp and move at 75% speed.

5. Touch of Elune. Night elves carry a blessing of their moon goddess, Elune. 1% extra critical strike chance during the day, 1% extra haste during the night.

6. Nature Resistance. Like the tauren, generations of living in the wilderness have made night elves good at withstanding the damage of the natural world. 1% less damage from nature spells and attacks.

Night elves are a popular choice for World of Warcraft. They have a unique appearance, a deep, complex backstory, and are one of the game’s most iconic races. Until the most recent expansion, Battle for Azeroth, they also had one of the most unique capital cities, essentially built into a giant world tree. So, if you’re looking for a race with a lot of lore and flavor to really get into the Warcraft story with, night elves are a great choice. Ande’thoras-ethil, good reader!